A delegation from the Algarve Left Bloc, made up of José Gusmão, António Branco, Guadalupe Simões and Sandra da Costa, met this Wednesday, in Faro, with the Police Professionals Union Association (ASPP-PSP) to discuss the situation of the security forces and their professionals in the Algarve.
According to the Bloc, ASPP representatives “were aware of the lack of working conditions for the PSP in the district and the problem of careers, which remains unresolved”.
The PSP is struggling with a reduction in staff and an increase in the average age of agents, which is currently around 45 years old. The devaluation of careers and the degradation of retirement conditions combine with the cost of living in the region to make recruitment more difficult, the blocists point out.
In addition to the problems with the number of staff, the PSP is struggling with the transfer of some competencies from the SEF that were not accompanied by agents that would allow it to respond.
In addition to the lack of human resources, there are deplorable working conditions, ranging from the facilities in which PSP professionals work to vehicles, vests and other work equipment.
“Particularly ridiculous is the fact that the PSP of Faro haven't had a trailer for about two years. Many of these problems are reflected in the ability of security forces to adequately perform their work.
“In the Algarve, with high housing and mobility costs, it will be increasingly difficult to attract new professionals”, adds Bloco de Esquerda.
Regarding the specific context of the security forces' actions in the Algarve region, José Gusmão, head of the list of blockers by the circle of Faro, recalled that “every summer, the Algarve is visited by hundreds of thousands of people who add to the work of the security forces and create pressure to which an insufficient response has been given and based on the growing restriction of professionals' rights, at the level of vacations and days off”
António Branco, representative of the Algarve Bloc, stated that he recognized, “in the ASPP's most important demands, common features with the serious deficiencies reported in other public sectors, such as health, education or higher education, which show the need and urgency to stop the degradation existing in such important functions of the State”.
The Bloc and ASPP delegations also discussed the legal framework for the right to strike and union activity in the security forces. José Gusmão said that the Bloc's position is to defend the right of police professionals to strike.
The bloc candidate for the Algarve also defended that “PSP professionals are workers and therefore must have access to the same rights as other workers to fight for their rights, naturally with the definition of adequate minimum services”.
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